breakfast

Bloggers Lunch at Hüftengold

Bloggers Lunch at Hüftengold

Since I've started blogging, I've been thrilled to find lots of other great blogs and bloggers who share similar interests as mine. And while the blogging sphere in Stuttgart is still rather small, I'm not alone. This past week, in fact, I got a message from the lovely M over at Kaffee und Kuchen. We'd known each other for several months now through blog posts and comments, and she asked if I'd be interested in a face-to-face meeting. I was happy to agree. 

Being both foodies, I offered up a list of lunch places that I'd been wanting to try, and we quickly settled on Hüftengold. I'm actually a bit ashamed to admit that although I've lived two blocks from this tiny café for over two years, I've been to sit down. That said, I have tried their delicious shrimp curry and homemade caramel-stracciatella ice cream at the Bohnenviertelfest this past summer. I was excited to go back "for real" this time...

Girls' Lunch at Academie der Schönsten Künste

Girls' Lunch at Academie der Schönsten Künste

There are a few places around our neighborhood that I can rely on for a delicious meal, like QQ Sushi, Shabu Shabu, La Bruschetta, and Nur. Another of these places is Academie der schönsten künste. And so on the day after Christmas, with three family members sick at home and with me not feeling much like cooking after our Christmas Eve snacks and large roast dinner on Christmas day, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and I decided to have a ladies lunch. 

Even though businesses shut down by law between the 24th and the 26th, restaurants are allowed to stay open. As such, Academie was packed. Still we were able to squeeze in for a table...

Seasonal Dining at Grand Café Planie

Seasonal Dining at Grand Café Planie

The big celebration of our five year anniversary was our trip to Barcelona a couple of weeks ago. However, we weren't able to go on the actual day because we were limited by my school's calendar breaks. And so to celebrate on the actual day, we decided to head over to Grand Café Planie for dinner after work. 

I like Grand Café Planie because they have lovely seasonal menus. I love all things related to the fall and to pumpkins, which is why we chose the fall season for our wedding. In fact, we even had a custom-made pumpkin-spice cake with a buttercream frosting. Grand Café Planie also has a delicious pumpkin menu that we tried last fall, so it seemed like the most appropriate place to go...

Breakfast at Bäckerei Frank

Breakfast at Bäckerei Frank

One thing I love about living in Germany is the bread. Unlike American Wonder Bread, German bread is baked fresh and comes in a variety of flavors besides "white". In fact, "wheat bread" doesn't exist here, because most of the breads you can buy are a kind of wheat bread, or rather, just bread. In fact, the bread is so fresh that once you slice it, it's really only good for two or three days max until it starts to get stale. I suppose this explains why bread is so cheap, and why it's normal to buy fresh bread every day as you need it. 

Bakeries are a much bigger deal here than in the States, and it's not uncommon to see two or three on the same corner in a city. We do most of our shopping at that the bakery just outside our local grocery store out of convenience, although I'll also stop at one of the two bakeries on the way to work when I need bread or breakfast rolls for school. I find that the quality at these bakeries is fine for the everyday (and still above what we used to get at our grocery store bakery in the States), but when I have the time, I like to go to my favorite bakery in our neighborhood: Bäckerei Frank.